I figured that, while the second half of the BW2010 rules are being worked on, I would finish my project of turning the BW2005 rules (post-Horse) into a nice book (nicer than the current PDF, at any rate). I've uploaded the fruits of my labors here, and welcome any feedback you have.

Here's to BW2010 -- I'll have a book of that available, too.

If you want to print out the rulebook directly, you are all set to hit Ctrl-P. If you want to use a Print On Demand service, you may have to make a few changes. I know that Lulu.com has certain requirements for covers and margins — the first page and last page are obviously covers and will have to be uploaded separately, and the second-to-last page is a measuring aid which sticks out too far into the margins for book printing — and, frankly, having it bound up in the book kind of ruins the purpose of using it for measuring! So you will have to split the PDF file into a few subfiles — page 1, pages 2-150, page 151, and page 152. A PDF printer (like PDFCreator or CC PDF Converter) is a good way to do this.

Last edited by HAL-9001 on Wed Mar 16, 2011 9:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

lrdofbricks wrote:good but you know theirs already a hardcover rulebook in circulation right?

I do know of the other rulebook. I also know that the 2005 rules have changed since that rulebook's publication (i.e. the chapter about the Horse, tweaking the rules for Guns, etc.). I figured it was about time for a new rulebook.

ikensall wrote:My only problem is the "It works for anoraks too" bit (they shouldn't be encouraged).

I see what you're saying, but I took that from the forward, and I think it kind of fits -- Proto-Brikwars was too detailed and unplayable, 1998 had simpler rules, 2001 was trying to go overboard with rules (and underestimated the abilities of Anoraks), and so 2005 (and 2010) is trying to strike a balance. Having fun is of course most important, but there is something to be said for standardization and completeness -- would forum battles be possible without some agreement on the rules (without minimizing the utility of the Law of Fudge and What I Say Goes, of course)?

Unless I'm totally off base about this, I think I'll leave that text in. It makes for a nice pithy blurb for the back of the book.

Speaking of which, I see that I left out the word "a" -- I thought I caught all of the errors, but obviously this one slipped through. I will fix that soon...

Ross_Varn wrote:Huh, I asked about this a few months ago with the intentions of doing it. Fine, as long as you link me to the purchase link for the final edition so I can get my hands on a hardcopy version, mate.

I've got some editing to do before the book is ready -- obviously, there are still typos and writing errors, I know of several areas with problematic formatting, and I need to take out the measuring aid from the back to fit the margins (though I will still make it available for download separately).

For your information, the cost estimates come in at about $35 for the paperback, and $45 for hardcover. I think that Lulu will make me buy a proof copy before they will sell the book -- that shouldn't be a problem, but if I can only do one book first, which would you all prefer?

HAL-9001 wrote:For your information, the cost estimates come in at about $35 for the paperback, and $45 for hardcover. I think that Lulu will make me buy a proof copy before they will sell the book -- that shouldn't be a problem, but if I can only do one book first, which would you all prefer?

That's tricky, as soon as you set up a Lulu store to sell the book then it's violating the non-commmercial clause in the disclaimer. Best you can logically do is release the PDF and let people Lulu-print it for themselves.

HAL-9001 wrote:For your information, the cost estimates come in at about $35 for the paperback, and $45 for hardcover. I think that Lulu will make me buy a proof copy before they will sell the book -- that shouldn't be a problem, but if I can only do one book first, which would you all prefer?

That's tricky, as soon as you set up a Lulu store to sell the book then it's violating the non-commmercial clause in the disclaimer. Best you can logically do is release the PDF and let people Lulu-print it for themselves.

Alright; I had thought to set royalties to zero, but I'll abide by your decision.

HAL-9001 wrote:For your information, the cost estimates come in at about $35 for the paperback, and $45 for hardcover. I think that Lulu will make me buy a proof copy before they will sell the book -- that shouldn't be a problem, but if I can only do one book first, which would you all prefer?

That's tricky, as soon as you set up a Lulu store to sell the book then it's violating the non-commmercial clause in the disclaimer. Best you can logically do is release the PDF and let people Lulu-print it for themselves.

Remove the non-commercial clause or replace it with something a little more lenient?

dilanski wrote:Remove the non-commercial clause or replace it with something a little more lenient?

What are you, insane?

Do you mean the stuff you put in the rulebook or Lego's clause's? If it's not the latter then I don't see why you can't work something out to allow rulebook content to be sold on the basis of non-profit.